Maybe It’s Time for Plan C - since the dawn of the Great Recession, more Americans have started businesses (565,000 of them a month in 2010) than at any period in the last decade and a half. 'The lures are obvious: freedom, fulfillment. The highs can be high. But career switchers have found that going solo comes with its own pitfalls: a steep learning curve, no security, physical exhaustion and emotional meltdowns. The dream job is a “job” as much as it is a “dream.”' [more inside]
posted by VikingSword on Aug 18, 2011 - 87 comments

A 'startup school' was hosted by net guru Paul Graham in late fall in Boston last year, which brought together a few hundred would-be Web 2.0 success stories to hear advice from previous success stories, players in the tech industry, and even a few pieces of legend. The Presentations page contains links and slideshows for each presenter, and you get to hear (mp3) from an excellent cross-section of some of the modern web's most influential tinkerers.
posted by spiderwire on Mar 4, 2006 - 19 comments

Global warming -- the upside: the entrepreneurs poised to make millions from new ports and shipping lanes in the formerly ice-bound Arctic circle. A fascinating New York Times article on the international land-grab following the news (reported here, discussed here, whitewashed here, et. al.) that the polar ice caps and Siberian permafrost are melting. Goodbye Gulf Stream, hello Club Med Santa-style -- first SUV to the North Pole wins!
posted by digaman on Oct 10, 2005 - 53 comments

Guerilla Girls... behaving badly? “I don’t know whether this is the kind of thing that happens with any kind of group as time passes. All I know is that people are very upset and sad.”
posted by semmi on May 30, 2005 - 34 comments

Hi-Tech's New Day - Since the collapse of the Nasdaq bubble and the dotcom fizzle, the last five years have been particularly hard on technology entrepreneurs. But lately, there's been a bit of a resurgence (what with the Google IPO and Apple's second wind and all). Not that the boom is going to resume, by any means, it's just encouraging that tech innovation continues apace and is again being rewarded in the marketplace! [really i'm just posting this cuz there seems to be a new intarweb celebrity power couple on the block (via a.whole #1) :]
posted by kliuless on Apr 7, 2005 - 3 comments

What could you do with $27? - Microcredit or microfinance provides working capital through small loans to the working poor. Read some of the wonderful accounts of people who built thriving businesses and new lives with from a jumpstart of as little as a $100 loan. Read the remarkable story of the Grameen Bank, and learn about Village Banking, and other inspiring efforts to bring dignity and help to the more than 1.2 billion people who live on less than one dollar a day. - more -
posted by madamjujujive on Jun 8, 2003 - 10 comments